'I've just popped down for a moment,' said Bertha, 'it's not as if we're even moving yet!'
'Well you shouldn't have!' replied Captain Bill, 'you're required to be at a constant state of high alert. What have you got with you anyway?'
'It's just a couple of books and some knitting,' explained Bertha.
'Fine!' replied Captain Bill, 'so when we're being boarded by hostile forces and I'm wondering why nobody saw them coming at least I'll know that it was in part because my lookout was trawling through the last couple of chapters of some cheap romance!'
'One's on the theory of sculpture and the other is on indexing problems in libraries,' said Bertha.
'Wonderful!' replied Captain Bill, 'well I shall be able to draw some small measure of comfort when pierced through with cutlasses that you weren't completely wasting your time...and the knitting?'
'Nothing much,' mooed Bertha.
'It's not...it's not for a compass is it?'
'Might be,' replied Bertha.
'But you mustn't!' said Captain Bill.
'Nothing to stop me!' replied Bertha.
'If I could interrupt,' interrupted Norma, 'charts, maps etc, we do need to decide what direction we're going to sail in.'
'I think you'll find I've already made a decision about that,' replied Captain Bill, 'and anyway, first things first, before anything else...we need to get out of the harbour.'
'In which case I simply must get back up top,' said Bertha, 'this is always my favourite bit!'
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